Baby Killed in Truck, House Accident off I-41 in Oshkosh, WI
Oshkosh, WI -- July 25, 2022, a baby was killed due to an accident where a truck went off I-41 and crashed through a house.
Investigators with the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office said that the crash took place at around 6:00 p.m. along I-41 in the area of Green Valley Road and Highway 76.
Authorities said that a semi-truck was traveling along the interstate when it somehow careened off-road, crossed the service road, and then crashed through a nearby home.
As a result, an 8-month-old child in the home sustained fatal injuries. An 8-year-old was rescued from the home, but it's unclear if she was killed. The truck driver reportedly had minor injuries.
At this time, additional details are under investigation.
Commentary on Baby Killed in Truck, House Accident in Oshkosh
Accidents like this happen from time to time, and they are just jaw-dropping. To think a family lost their child due to events they couldn't have possibly foreseen. The question now is whether or not anyone else could have foreseen this.
A truck veering off the interstate this badly is often a sign the driver was doing something wrong. Is it possible something beyond their control occurred, such as a drive-tire blowout or a sudden mechanical defect? Certainly, but investigations usually show there were avoidable issues. Beyond that, investigations can also show that mistakes were actually the result of preexisting issues the driver's employer had a responsibility to address.
For example, I handled a crash a while back where a semi-truck lost control because the driver fell asleep at the wheel. As open-and-shut as that seemed, our investigations showed the driver was trying to meet a ludicrous deadline. That company would routinely coerce drivers into meeting unreasonable deadlines and cutting every possible corner to do so. They should have known their recklessness would get someone hurt eventually, but they either didn't give a damn or were too inept to realize there was a problem.
I'm not saying that happened here, necessarily, but it's not the sort of thing authorities always handle on their own. Maybe this will be as simple as someone reaching for something in the floor board or suffering a unexpected medical emergency. One way or the other, there's a family out there that deserves answers, and every moment spent not getting those answers is a moment wasted.
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